Civil servants have been found to be abusing “flexi time” work in order to claim 50 days’ holiday a year.
Mandarins can gain additional leave by declaring “overtime” through a platform that allows public servants to choose the time they start and finish working.
They are contracted to work 37.5 hours a week, but are also able to claim overtime and take it as time off in lieu – up to two days a month.
Some civil servants have hacked the system by keeping their laptops open over their working hours whilst being at home, as well as clocking in their commuting time.
The additional “overtime” civil servants gain means they can claim up to 50 days of annual leave in a year, according to the Telegraph.
Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, GB News presenter and former Leader of the House of Commons, had planned to review the civil service benefit during his time in Government, but did not manage to do so before the resignation of Liz Truss in 2022.
Mandarins have also been found to be faking office attendance for years at a time, flouting rules that require them to be in-person for at least three days a week.
Whistleblowers report management having “no control” over remote staff who push the boundaries of civil service perks.
The Department for Work and Pensions has come under fire after whilstleblowers have called out colleagues taking advantage of flexible working benefits
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An ex-member of staff for the Pensions Regulator (TPR), an arm’s-length body of the Department for Work and Pensions, said: “Almost every member of staff below senior management level is entitled to two flexi days per month, and virtually everyone takes them.
“Added to the standard 25 days’ annual leave and eight public holidays, it amounts to a significant amount of time away from work.
“The justification, of course, is that these flexi days are supposedly earned, but the reality often looks very different.”
He continued, saying staff were routinely logging travel time between home and the office as working hours, whilst others claimed time spent on the school run or personal activities were part of their working day – all under the guise of mental wellbeing.
Police officers faced misconduct proceedings after they were found to be ‘key-jamming’
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The source also described a common pattern of employees leaving their laptops idle from 4pm before returning at 5.30pm to log off – essentially adding an additional 90 minutes to their “flexi time” balance without actually working.
Other public servants have come under fire for cheating work from home benefits.
Police officers were caught “key-jamming”, a phenomenon where they hold down the keyboard with an object to give the impression they are working.
Officers consequently faced misconduct proceedings for the behaviour.
Sir Jacob said the Telegraph’s findings would likely be “very dispiriting” for hardworking employees within the civil service.
He called for greater oversight on how “flexi time” is being used across Whitehall, arguing that such working arrangements need proper approval and monitoring to ensure they function fairly for all parties.
Also, he said the Land Registry operated in what he described as a completely honour-based system with no checks in place to verify whether staff were actually working.
He linked this to what he called the organisation’s “appalling service provision for taxpayers”.
Some property document changes are currently taking as long as 18 months to process.
An HM Land Registry spokesman said the vast majority of staff did not claim time off in lieu for additional hours worked and that any abuse of flexible working arrangements was taken extremely seriously and would be acted upon.
A TPR spokesman said: “TPR is committed to maintaining a high-performing, accountable and flexible workforce that delivers effectively for pension scheme members.
“Staff at TPR work standard contractual hours and must adhere to our office attendance policy.
“Any individual who does not meet expected standards is managed by their line manager and, where necessary, faces robust formal action.”
